Luxembourg-registered Sigma Capital Investments, a developer of hospitality real estate on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, said on April 27 it planned to list on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

Sigma plans to offer global depositary receipts (GDRs) on the main market of the LSE in a move that would make it the first company with assets based only in Bulgaria to list in London, Sigma said in a statement.

“The listing on the LSE provides Sigma with an excellent possibility to speed up its development as a stable company in the Bulgarian hotel business, benefiting from the country’s growing popularity as a tourism destination,” Sigma director Henning Krippendorff said in the statement.

“We believe that our reputation and our plans for growth and development will provide a long-term and steady return to our future shareholders,” he said.

The company has hired Citigroup and ING for financial consultants on the listing. The GDR offering is expected to be completed in the second quarter of the year.

The company said it would use the proceeds from the public offering for acquisitions and development of new properties and for partial debt repayments.

Sigma’s market value stood at 192.9 million euro at the end of 2005, according to an evaluation made by Colliers International.
Sigma manages an asset portfolio that includes four four-star Black Sea hotels with a total capacity of 1993 rooms, managed by international hotel operators Kempinski, Iberostar and IFA.

The company is now building two five-star hotels with a total 875 rooms, which should be put into operation by the end of this year. It recently bought a 90 000sq m plot of land, where it plans to build a resort with a 200-room hotel and apartment houses.